"What?" When he heard the news that the German landing fleet was on the periphery of Port Matru and was preparing to land, and that the El Alamein airfield had been controlled by German paratroopers, Montgomery was completely panicked, and although he was still trying to suppress his emotions, the staff officers of his entourage could clearly see that his hands were trembling when he received the message from de Lagann.

After reading it, his originally gloomy face stretched longer: "According to the telegram, the airport was lost before 7 o'clock in the morning, and now it is more than 9 o'clock, why did it take so long to send the telegram to us?" ”

"The officers of the 4th Indian Division did not raise their vigilance and did not realize the purpose of the German army's operation, and mistakenly believed that it was only a small group of paratroopers infiltrating and sabotaging, so they received a warning telegram from the airport guard about the loss of the position, and organized a counteroffensive operation on their own......"

"The result?"

"Shamefully defeated...... "they were so overwhelmed by the German planes in air support that they had to telegraph again for reinforcements, believing that they would at least need an air force to retake the airfield." ”

"Confused, bastard, idiot......" Montgomery cursed almost jumping to his feet, and the staff officers were sure that they had never seen a lieutenant general so angry, and his angry expression was ten times worse now than when the 7th Division was badly damaged by a surprise attack by the Germans.

"Why not report first and then counterattack? Why not send a large force to counterattack? Time is all a fucking waste......" Montgomery sighed as he burst into foul mouth, "the British Empire has such a bunch of rubbish - everyone knows that the paratroopers are the most elite assault force of the Germans, and Crete is the gap opened by the paratroopers." If you lose it, report it quickly. ”

In fact, the commanders of the 4th Indian Division are not to blame, they did not expect the situation to be so serious at all, according to their ideas. It was a proper credit to repel the paratroopers and recapture the airfield, and it was never too late to report it to the authorities, and it would be a pity that they had met a formidable opponent!

"Sir, what now?" "The Germans have hit us in the soft underbelly, and now that the supply lines are broken, there is no problem in maintaining the operation of the army group in the short term." If it's long...... I'm afraid ......"

He didn't say the rest of the words, but everyone understood the meaning, and there was a lingering worry between everyone's eyebrows.

While talking. General Alexander's telegram also arrived, and it was evident that the general was also shocked by the news and was speechless, and his actions were panicked, but his staff officers were finally able to fulfill their duties. The telegram told Montgomery. He had ordered the air forces stationed in Cairo and Alexandria to bomb the El Alamein airfield, and at the same time ordered the navy to move quickly to destroy the German landing fleet outside the port of Matrou, about 20 minutes before the order was given - it seems that the defenders of Matroux and the Indian 4th Division had sent telegrams to the Eighth Army and the direction of Egypt at about the same time.

The message argued that the 4th Indian Division and the 72nd Brigade currently in the area alone were not sufficient to deal with the "crisis", and he demanded that Montgomery in any case send strong forces to support the Matru and El Alamein directions and stifle the German landing attempts.

"It's late! Between 6:30 and 9 o'clock, plus nearly an hour before our planes flew over, the Germans had three and a half hours to run errands from that airfield - how much force could they put into it? The Germans didn't even notice such a big battle, and our intelligence services were simply eating - ****! Montgomery let off steam. It was useless to think about it, and he controlled his emotions. Bowing his head in a daze, he began to pace around the headquarters, his brain spinning rapidly as he went, and after a moment he formed an idea to dictate orders to De-Lagan, "First, immediately send a telegram to London informing us of the landing behind us, and denouncing the incompetence and negligence of the intelligence services; secondly, in view of the fact that the logistical supply lines of the army group have been cut off, and the connection with the Egyptian direction has also been severed, and the enemy may be flanked by our troops, so it is no longer possible to continue the task of besieging Tobruk, and requests for the immediate withdrawal of troops; Third, ask the London side to quickly coordinate the landing force at sea to rush to Egypt as soon as possible to support, otherwise Egypt will be at risk of falling; Fourth, order the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 9th Australian Division to immediately stop the attack, shrink and organize their forces, and prepare to move quickly to engage the Germans near Port Matroux. By the way, all the telegrams were copied to General Alexander, and now we need to strengthen communication with the Cairo side, and if we take care of ourselves, we will be broken by the enemy individually. ”

De Lagan asked puzzledly: "Why was the New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 9th Division transferred?" They are the furthest from the battlefield. ”

"Because their pressure is the lightest, the German army in the east and south has always maintained an offensive posture, if we withdraw troops, the position and defense line are only afraid of collapse immediately, then not only can not save Egypt, we ourselves will be finished, the combat effectiveness of the new and Australian divisions is stronger, and there are more than 150 tanks, only they undertake such a difficult task. In addition, the Indian 21st Infantry Brigade, which served as the reserve of the army group, was also sent to them, and the German troops should not have too many troops, and they must be driven into the sea as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late. He gritted his teeth and declared with a hideous face, "As for all other lines of defense, it is necessary to fight to the last man, to the last position, and not to allow any German soldier to join the landing force, otherwise the cause of the British Empire in Egypt and North Africa will be completely finished, and the cause of the Allies will be basically finished!" ”

In contrast to the atmosphere of depression, depression, and panic in the command of the Eighth Army, the command of the African Army was now a sea of joy, and everyone was happy, even the old officers of their 40s and 50s felt that they were walking in the wind and feeling comfortable, as if they had eaten the most delicious spring water in the desert.

"Sir, not only do we have control of the El Alamein airfield, but the British defenses of Port Matrum are also fragile, and everything points to a successful landing...... The Führer said, I owe you a favor, and I will send you a big medal when I return home."

Guderian muttered in a low voice, "Isn't it only for medals and not for scepters?" ”

This muttering made Mei Linjin hear it, and laughed: "Sir, don't worry, the marshal's scepter can't run there...... Marshal Rommel took Tobruk and obtained the scepter, as long as we can take Egypt, whether or not you led the troops to accomplish this feat, I think your credit is indispensable - without the Afrika Army to contain and attract such a large force, the landing would not have been so easy, and the Führer would not be confused! ”

"Let's not talk about that, let's focus on getting our own things done." After listening to the advice of his subordinates, Guderian smiled all over his face, and he also thought that the Führer could not treat him badly, as if he had seen the field marshal's scepter beckoning to him.

Beside Lein, who was also excited, tried his best to get rid of all the clutter in his mind and asked, "Sir, the higher authorities have asked us to hold Montgomery back, what should we do next?" ”

"Concentrate your forces and attack the south!"

"South?" Everyone was stunned, the east is the closest place to Port Matrou, and it also controls the coastal road, why not attack the east directly?

"If you were Montgomery, would you choose to withdraw the troops from the east?"

Everyone instinctively wanted to say "yes", but after thinking about it, they felt that it was inappropriate, and as soon as the east was withdrawn, the British army would immediately face the danger of being attacked by the African army, and this decision was not so simple.

"I think Montgomery's biggest possibility is to draw troops from the west, or it may be troops from the south, but no matter what he does, the troops from the west must go through the south if they want to go east, and we have to be firmly planted here like nails to stop Montgomery's dying throes." Guderian spread his big hand on the map, which happened to shroud the distribution range of the Eighth Army together, "I have decided on this Eighth Army!" ”

Not to mention two months ago, even if it was two days ago Guderian said this, everyone should weigh the weight and feasibility, no one would think that 100,000 can eat 300,000, but today the situation has completely reversed, after cutting off the logistics supply line of the Eighth Army - no one doubts the possibility of eating this heavy army group.

"But doesn't Port Matroux need our reinforcements?" Westphar asked, "I heard that the British still have more than 30,000 troops in Egypt, and if they are all pulled out, I am afraid that the landing force will face great trouble."

"No, you don't!" Guderian said categorically, "There are 60,000 troops in Crete, including the Great German Division, the Viking Division, the 20th Motorized Rifle Division and the Paratrooper Brigade, which is the most elite unit of the Third Reich, and there is a commander like Rommel, not to mention that all the landings are successful, and I think the landing is enough to deal with the British army in the direction of Egypt, but we have to hold Montgomery and not let him go to reinforcements." ”

"Yes! Then let Montgomery see our strongest blow. ”

At the moment when the troops on both sides were arranged, the battle of the port was over, although according to Balke's instructions, the 4 330mm main guns on the Strasbourg were not used, but a 130mm and 203mm caliber naval guns were aimed at the positions and targets exposed by the British troops and opened fierce fire, and the port was beaten into dust. As soon as the 203mm caliber shells were smashed down, it was a large crater of several tens of meters, and the pitiful support firepower of the 72 Infantry Brigade was not enough at all, and it was subdued at once.

After more than 40 minutes, the No. 4 successfully climbed onto the beachhead and took control of the situation, leaving only the Tiger to crawl slowly to make people anxious, but this time they were very face-saving, and there were no failures, and in the end there was some strength left.

The adjutant pointed ahead and excitedly called out to Balk: "Sir, the enemy has fled. ”

"Good! Landing at the port! (To be continued.) )